Amar'e Stoudemire returns to form, but should he return to Knicks' starting lineup too?

Amar'e Stoudemire is getting back to form, but does that mean Mike Woodson should reinsert him back into the Knicks' starting lineup?Elsa/Getty Images

Among Knicks
coach Mike Woodson's many rotational dilemmas is the
quandary over how many minutes to give Amar'e Stoudemire.

He's 30, coming off arthroscopic knee surgery and he
hasn't been starting, but beginning with the Jan. 13 win over the New Orleans
Hornets, Stoudemire has played like a 20-year old again. In the last five games
specifically, Stoudemire has averaged 17 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while
shooting 61.4 percent from the field and 81.6 percent at the line.

If that information was all that mattered, Stoudemire
would be back in the starting lineup by now. But given his history with knee
and back issues and the fact that the Knicks reserve big men Marcus Camby and
Rasheed Wallace are each old (38) and nursing foot injuries, it's increasingly
important that Woodson refrain from making Stoudemire a starter again.

After all, Carmelo Anthony has logged plenty of minutes at
power forward this year, and there's no reason he should stop now (obviously
defending the position has been a struggle of late, but Anthony has had no
issue scoring on 4s so far this year).

Of course, there are more mitigating factors.

The return of starter Raymond Felton -- a pick-and-roll
point guard who has traditionally played well along Stoudemire -- is a major
reason to get STAT more minutes with the starters. Felton found Stoudemire for
an easy dunk on Sunday, which was reminiscent of their first tenure together
back in 2010-2011.

"There's going to be more
of that," Stoudemire said, as
quoted by Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
"We're just getting started. This was only his second game back. I'm sure
there's going to be more exciting plays between Raymond and myself."

Kidd was limited to five minutes on Sunday after playing
only 15 in Saturday's loss in Philadelphia. If he does return to a bench role
(something that seems increasingly likely) Iman Shumpert could slide to
shooting guard, Anthony could return to small forward and then Stoudemire would
be able to start at power forward.

But then there's the ongoing issue of pairing Anthony with
Stoudemire. The two make "max" money because they're both scorers, and while
that doesn't preclude them from playing together, the fact that they use the
same geography of the court to attack the rim affects Woodson's spacing on
offense.

Finally, there's the issue of what's right for Stoudemire.
His knee has looked fine recently, but he could be playing his best at the
moment because he's receiving the optimal amount of minutes. Perhaps any more
playing time would cause his overall game to suffer in ways we haven't even
considered.

Woodson's choice won't be easy, but as the season inches
closer to the playoffs, it's hard to envision players like Chris Copeland and
James White continuing to steal starts. Woodson's ability to navigate these
issues will ultimately decide what happens to the Knicks this season.